Need advice on how to treat burnout.

[Burned_Follower]

This may sound crazy but I actually enjoy math. I'm just started going to Embry Riddle Worldwide this month. I'm taking Intermediate Algebra as the first of a long list of prerequisites. I'm basically spending this year going from intermediate algebra all the way to calculus 1.

I have a very good work ethic and it's to a fault. I will study for several hours at a time, until my brain forces me to take a break because after a while, my brain feels really scrambled. What I mean by that, is if I'm doing a list of practice linear equations with variables on both sides of the equation, I will start to make simple mistakes, like not adding two numbers correctly, or not carrying over a + or - sign, things I usually don't do the first couple hours in a several hour long homework session, and I have to make myself stop, watch something on netflix, or go outside and take a walk, and after an hour of 'doing something else', I come back and I'm ready to go for another few hours.

I'm already starting to develop my own system on how to deal with burnout, but I'm curious if you all have any good advice on how I can deal with burnout so that I can be as an effective math student that I can be. What do you guys do when you need to unscramble your brain?

 

[Steven G]

Just take a break like you suggested and come back when you feel refreshed.

 

[lev888]

This may sound crazy but I actually enjoy math. I'm just started going to Embry Riddle Worldwide this month. I'm taking Intermediate Algebra as the first of a long list of prerequisites. I'm basically spending this year going from intermediate algebra all the way to calculus 1.

I have a very good work ethic and it's to a fault. I will study for several hours at a time, until my brain forces me to take a break because after a while, my brain feels really scrambled. What I mean by that, is if I'm doing a list of practice linear equations with variables on both sides of the equation, I will start to make simple mistakes, like not adding two numbers correctly, or not carrying over a + or - sign, things I usually don't do the first couple hours in a several hour long homework session, and I have to make myself stop, watch something on netflix, or go outside and take a walk, and after an hour of 'doing something else', I come back and I'm ready to go for another few hours.

I'm already starting to develop my own system on how to deal with burnout, but I'm curious if you all have any good advice on how I can deal with burnout so that I can be as an effective math student that I can be. What do you guys do when you need to unscramble your brain?

If you notice that you start making mistakes after 2 hours try setting a timer and take a break every 1.5 hours.

 

[JeffM]

Doing math (and programming) takes intense concentration. Different people have different capacities to maintain that concentration over time. Breaks don’t have to be long to restore you unless you are also sleepy. Walk around the block. Kiss your spouse. Play with the dog. Just take your mind off what you were working on for ten or fifteen minutes. If you are sleepy, then a nap works wonders.